Company Spotlight: Industrious

Airbnb changed the way we vacation, Uber changed the way we ride, Amazon changed the way we shop, and smartphones have changed the way that we do almost everything else. Today, coworking offices represent a paradigm shift in what was once a fairly predictable real estate asset class.

Nothing exemplifies this more than Industrious.

Industrious Office KPIs

Talk about hitting the ground running! In only five years Industrious has become the third-largest nationwide coworking network in the U.S., right behind WeWork and IWG Plc, formerly Regus.

Here are a few of Industrious’ most impressive key performance indicators:

650 people applied for 60 spots in the company’s first location in Chicago,

Tripled in size since their first opening,

Grew by 500% just last year and by 150% annually over the previous three years,

Raised $80 million earlier this year to double its number of coworking sites,

“Not Post-Frat Bros Blasting Tupac”

That’s what Industrious CEO Jamie Hodari said about the company’s image and the tenants they attract. He, along with Industrious co-founder Justin Stewart, have had such amazing success by taking a classier, more conservative approach to coworking space.

Competitors typically target twenty-something freelancers. Customers of Industrious are both millennials and baby boomers in the 30- to 60-year-old age groups. The company definitely attracts scrappy startups. But big businesses, regional headquarters, and Fortune 500 companies also call Industrious home.

Back in 2013, Hodari was a coworking tenant himself. Ikea was a major funder of that company, and while taking the president of Ikea back to his coworking office space he suddenly felt embarrassed about the way that space looked.

At the last minute the meeting was diverted to the corner coffee shop, and Hodari began thinking about how coworking office space could be reimagined.

Fun, Casual, Sedate, and Serious

Coworking office space from Industrious provides the perfect mix of social interaction while keeping noise and distraction to a minimum. With thousands of customers from all parts of the country, the coworking complexes from Industrious have been undeniably successful.

It began as an experiment to see what would happen if a company brought high-end, hotel-quality hospitality to the workplace. In a world where employees care more and more about workplace environment with each passing year, Justin and I believed that treating the office as a hospitality product, like a restaurant or a hotel, could help create happier, more engaging, more fulfilling workplaces. The experiment was a runaway success.

Focusing on the Broader Market

As coworking office space becomes the norm for how people work, coworking operators look for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Some offer kitchen space or pet-friendly coworking spaces.

Industrious is succeeding by focusing on the broader market for coworking office space. All customers get either a coworking space or private office space for one to 250 people. There are also communal areas to socialize, relaxation spots, nap pods, party spaces, nursing rooms, meeting rooms, and conference rooms.

According to Hodari, Industrious is a better fit for slightly older customers – from new mothers in their 30s to the 65-year-old CPAs nearing retirement age. By targeting a more established customer base, Industrious is able to offer a slightly more premium coworking space that feels welcoming and inclusive.

Industrious is also planning to put some of its most recent $80 million in funding to work this year by opening coworking spaces in several Macerich shopping malls around the U.S.

The company’s first venture into repurposing retail space into coworking office use will be a nearly 33,000 square foot space in Scottsdale Fashion Square, slated to open in January 2019.

Customers of all Industrious office complexes can choose between a private office or renting a personal desk in a shared space. All spaces are beautifully designed with gorgeous common areas.

Typical amenities and goodies in an Industrious office location include craft coffee, local pastries, fresh fruit, relaxation rooms, ultra-fast internet, unlimited free printing, and great access to public transit.

All locations are locally managed, and the company is selective about who it hires, knowing that its employees are one of the keys to success. Because the Industrious vision is different from that of most coworking operators, the company prefers to hire people with a hospitality background.

Having the right people for the right position means Industrious can better serve a wide variety of companies – including startups and solo freelancers, growing companies like Spotify and Lyft, and mature businesses like Hyatt and Chipotle.

Jeff specializes in content creation, editing and proofreading in the real estate, finance and investment, and general business sectors for clients around the globe. My +25 years of extensive experience include actively working in and writing about all aspects of the real estate industry: Residential, multi family, commercial, leasing, renting, selling, group investing, business brokerage and property management.
He has also written and published several very popular real estate books under the pen name Jeffrey Roark - The Basic Property Management Guide, Investment Real Estate Analysis: A Case Study, How To Find & Keep Great Tenants, and How To Make Money In Property Management. These can be found through all of the major book distributors.
Jeff is a Certified Commercial Investment Member. The CCIM designation is held by only 15,000 commercial and investment real estate professionals worldwide and is the highest professional certification one can earn in commercial investment real estate.